I am 72 years old and have seen racism survive. I have decried racism, and condemned the violent protests that more and more frequently follow racist acts. The murder of George Floyd has changed my mind. I still hate the violence and don’t think it will help matters, but I understand the rage.
George Floyd was an American citizen who was killed by a police officer. For more than eight minutes, an officer kept his knee pressed onto Mr. Floyd’s neck, while Mr. Floyd cried out that he could not breathe. After four minutes, Mr. Floyd fell silent and became unresponsive. What did the three fellow officers do? Nothing!
The time has far passed when that response is acceptable. We must face the racism of the few and root it out of our police departments and government.
One racist act by a police officer must be cause for immediate firing. A half-baked apology is unacceptable. Do-nothing politicians are unacceptable. If they can’t protect the rights of all citizens, they don’t belong in office. For our country to survive, we must start taking action as citizens. We must demand accountability from our governments, and from our police departments.
